Guests gathered at the BSH Home of Innovation for a morning of Easter lunch inspiration, tasting and browsing the appliances …
Fifty guests of THE GLOSS gathered at BSH Home of Innovation on Saturday April 5 to enjoy In The Spring Kitchen, a seasonal cooking demonstration hosted by Kitty Coles, Food Editor at THE GLOSS and Sinéad Connolly, Home Economist at BSH. Kitty promised they would deliver a three-course Easter lunch in an hour and they did, whipping up easy rough puff pastry for an easy asparagus and cheese tart, a slow-cooked leg of lamb with leek salsa verde and a super-quick almond sponge cake served with fresh spring rhubarb.
The menu was typical of Kitty’s unfussy, achievable, yet very stylish way of cooking and serving, which she shares every month in her food column in THE GLOSS. The menu combined traditional spring ingredients of asparagus, lamb, and rhubarb – and of course Kitty’s favourite ingredient – lemons! Sinéad was on hand to explain the features of the NEFF oven and induction hob, from temperature probe to steam function to foolproof baking settings on the oven, and temperature cooking to central extractor, which swirls away cooking steam, on the hob.
In the smart BSH showroom kitchen, sleek appliances on all sides, and the aroma of freshly baked pastries and good coffee in the air, Kitty explained how she often makes easy rough puff pastry for her Asparagus, Honey and Cheese Tart, but advised if you’re short on time to buy all-butter puff pastry instead (though her version won the taste test!) When asked whether Kitty uses unsalted or regular butter, she answered honestly with “whatever I find in the fridge.” You can always add salt to butter if you like. If you prefer, substitute tenderstem broccoli for the asparagus, she said, always choose your favourite cheese, and drizzle the tart with honey and some black pepper before serving.
Next up was Kitty’s Slow-Roast Lamb with Leek Salsa Verde. The leg of lamb was rubbed with spices, herbs (fennel seeds, rosemary, thyme) and olive oil and placed in a deep baking tray in the oven with one whole peeled bulb of garlic, overnight, before being slow-roasted at 170°C in the oven for three hours, then finished in a hot oven (220°C) for 30 minutes. Don’t forget to rest the lamb for another 30 minutes before serving, said Kitty, just enough time to prepare your table or mix some cocktails. Kitty had styled a pretty Easter table in the showroom, with earthenware plates from Avoca, and a sweet new Easter bowl (complete with bunnies) by Nicholas Mosse.
Kitty’s Easter table; pink and taupe plates from the Bloomingville collection at Avoca, 11-13 Suffolk Street, Dublin 2 and branches; wine glasses by Hay, at Industry, 41 Drury Street, Dublin 2; oval bowl by Nicholas Mosse, at selected retailers.
Sinéad steamed the leeks with the steam function on the NEFF oven, and Kitty chopped them, along with mint and parsley, capers and anchovies. The addition of a generous teaspoon of Dijon mustard, olive oil, some red wine vinegar, lemon juice, and salt and pepper resulted in a zingy salsa which worked brilliantly with the roast lamb. Steamed new potatoes with butter were the foil for all that taste. Kitty cleverly placed the steamed potatoes underneath the resting lamb so they could soak up all the juices before serving.
Kitty’s Almond Sponge was a revelation. It took just six minutes to prepare and just 20 minutes to bake in the NEFF combi oven – part microwave, part conventional oven – where usually it would take 35.
To make the batter, Kitty added flour, ground almonds, caster sugar and bicarbonate of soda (always check it is in date!) to a bowl, and olive oil, yoghurt, orange zest and juice, almond extract and 3 beaten eggs to another, whisking each before combining and pouring the smooth batter into a tin. Using the temperature setting on the hob, Sinéad and Kitty cooked down a little rhubarb with sugar and water to serve on the side with whipped double cream; you could substitute orange segments, she suggested.
Sinéad, a whizz in the baking department, explains how she grows edible flowers in her garden to decorate her cakes. She also grows all her herbs – both cooks agreed it was depressing to have to buy fresh herbs in sad little plastic bags and boxes in most Irish supermarkets. An Asian supermarket close to the Home of Innovation sells big bunches of fresh herbs, as do most Polish shops, they agreed. Another tip to file away was a nifty way to line a baking tin with parchment paper, the joy of adding a little lemon zest to all grilled meats (a microplane grater is THE best gift to give a cook, says Kitty) and how serving family style with big platters on the table is the way to go this Easter.
Guests went home with the Neff cookery book and wooden salad servers, courtesy of Home of Innovation.
There’s no doubt that NEFF appliances in the kitchen would help make one a better cook – and baker. You can attend a NEFF baking demonstration for free: sign up here.
And if you are replacing an appliance (not just an oven or hob, but fridge, washer, dryer, dishwasher, even a coveted wine fridge!) or doing a complete kitchen renovation, you can make an appointment with the expert Home of Innovation team who will advise what’s best for you. www.homeofinnovation.ie
Download Kitty’s Easter menu from the In The Spring Kitchen Event:
Click into the gallery to see the guests who attended and more from the event:
Photographer: Naoise Culhane
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